Book Reviews
The Fourth Strand of the Reformation: A Review
Evangelicals exist along a spectrum concerning their interest in ecclesiology. Some are largely disinterested in what the Bible says about how to structure the local church. Yet others express a revived interest in ecclesiology, which ministries such as 9Marks have deeply influenced in the Baptist world. Where we fall on this spectrum isn’t driven entirely by our soteriology either. We might be tempted to think that the interest in ecclesiology is inexorably linked to the revival of Calvinism. But I can assure the reader that I have many...
read moreBook Review: Reset by David Murray
by Zach Vickery We live in a culture that is constantly pushing us to more productivity. There’s never a shortage of self-help books and blogs full of hacks to make life easier and more productive. In some ways, this push is a good thing since it encourages us to be good stewards of the time God has given us. Since the Garden of Eden, God intended for humans to work. Scripture, especially the wisdom literature, gives us instruction on not wasting our time and instead on using time intentionally. For example, Proverbs 13:4 says, “The soul of...
read moreRecommended Books (Winter 2019)
The old PBS program Reading Rainbow opened with a song that argued that reading allows us to go anywhere and be anything, even if only for a moment. While PBS has aired more than its share of silliness, that point is important. Reading really does open whole new vistas for the reader and makes it possible for us to travel to distant lands and learn new ideas from the comfort of a favorite sitting chair. Words, in themselves, are wonderful, almost magical, things. They encapsulate and convey our thoughts beyond our minds. As Bradley Green...
read moreRecommended Books (Autumn 2018)
As we near the Christmas season, we begin searching for good gifts for our loved ones. Books provide an endless supply of unique and meaningful signs of our affection. Below you will find some of our most recent finds and old favorites that may be meaningful for you and those on your Christmas list. Some selections are classics of the Western literary tradition while others are fresh releases from popular, academic, and ministry publishers. We think you’ll be able to find something of value in each selection. ____________________ Aesop,...
read moreRecommended Books (Summer 2018)
Books have an interesting ability to speak into our lives. Obviously, we often select works that promise insight into specific subjects with which we are grappling, but sometimes we accidentally stumble on books that almost seem to be specially written to address particular situations we are facing. This means that each new book holds unbounded promise between its pages. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed these selections over the past few months and think you might also find them interesting. With a wide range of subjects covered, we’re sure we have...
read moreRecommended Books (Spring 2018)
The information revolution has cheapened words. We are awash in a sea of verbs and nouns hastily typed into digital existence. To avoid drowning under the crashing waves, we have learned to scan documents for keywords or, worse still, hashtags. Even in the world of print, we can find thousands of books in community libraries anywhere in the nation. Such a wealth of material was unimaginable to the vast majority of premodern men. But, of course, words are not cheap. All words find their meaning and foundation in the Word Who became flesh. In...
read moreThe Beginnings of Baptist Ecclesiology: A Review
When people think of Thomas Helwys, they often think of religious liberty, and rightfully so. Yet Helwys’s writings address far more than religious liberty. Marvin Jones seeks to demonstrate this in his recent monograph The Beginnings of Baptist Ecclesiology: The Foundational Contributions of Thomas Helwys.[1] Jones contends that while many scholars have considered Helwys’s Mystery of Iniquity to be a work focused primarily on religious freedom, he believes the work focuses heavily, if not primarily, on Baptist ecclesiology.[2] Therefore,...
read moreRecommended Books (Winter 2018)
The cold grey days of winter are here again. This year has been particularly frigid, driving even the hardiest indoors for unusually long spells. In such weather, there are few pass times more profitable than spending the day in a reading chair with a good book. Below we have provided some of our favorite reads from recent weeks that may be beneficial to you as we slog through the last half of the season. Be sure to leave us some of your favorite suggestions in the comment box. ____________________ Jane Austen, Emma (Mineola, NY: Dover...
read moreBook Review: Faith Formation in a Secular Age
In early 2015, I remember picking up a then recent copy of Youthworker Journal with the headline article reading, “Why Theology Isn’t Enough for Youth Ministry.”[1] The author’s name was familiar: Andrew Root, who had also published youth ministry titles such as The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry and The Relational Pastor.[2] While I had strong reservations about the author’s thesis in the article, I have grown to appreciate Root’s desire to think more theologically and philosophically about ministry among youth. Root’s works are a...
read moreForum Contributors Share Their Favorite Books
Each year Forum contributors read, review, or survey hundreds of books. We try to share the best of our reading with Forum readers in the form of quarterly book recommendations. However, as 2017 draws to a close, each of us look back over the year and consider what book rises to the top of our lists—the ones that stimulated our thinking, challenged our thinking, or in some cases, brought great delight. Below each contributor shares their “favorite book read” in 2017. Some titles are somewhat dated, while others are more recent publications....
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